The Cincinnati Bengals are coming off their Week 6 bye and are set to travel to Baltimore for their second division game of the 2026 season. They’re 3-2, but they’re a mixed bag right now. The offense, despite the star power, struggled with consistency. The defense has shown improvement in some ways, but they haven’t shown themselves to be among the league’s top units.
After three straight seasons of missing the playoffs following two straight trips to the AFC Championship and a Super Bowl appearance, head coach Zac Taylor’s leash may be starting to tighten. With the Bengals still in the mix in the division, it’s too early to say Taylor could be on the way out, but some think the process could be accelerated with a bad showing against the Ravens.
The Bengals under Taylor were notoriously slow starters. The offense, with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, has looked mediocre at times, and the defense, after a good start, has struggled the last few weeks. Burrow and the weapons around him have a limited time in the league to win the championship, and they can’t afford to waste any more time.
This weekend can tell us a lot about what happens next.
Here’s what else is going on:
“He looks as good as he’s looked in a long time,” Taylor said. “I think last week he had a good week in terms of what he could handle from a rehab perspective. So this week to get him back together, he looks like he’s running well today. I think it’s good to finally get him back and feel closer to 100% health.”
“I’d say Yaya Diaby because you can extend him and make him part of your d-line of the future,” Liscow said of why he’s so high on the Bengals adding Diaby. “I think that would be one of the more expensive options on the roster, especially when you factor in the extension required there. But pairing him with Dexter Lawrence and Boy Mafe gives you three really good players on that defensive line to build around.”
There’s no question that Taylor is the better tailback compared to Brown, and his production from this season is enough of an argument on its own. Taylor has 492 yards and seven touchdowns on 122 carries in six games. More than 80% of his yardage came from under center concepts, and he averaged 4.4 yards per carry on those runs. He would be a clear upgrade over Brown as the lead back in Cincinnati’s run game.
“I think we definitely had moments in all three phases where you thought this was going to be us,” Taylor said. “And now just put together the complete game in all three stages.”